Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Buys New Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,375 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $412,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 112.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in Waters by 162.8% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,606 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 54.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 284,590 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $98,218,000 after purchasing an additional 4,149 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,763 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Redburn Partners set a $390.00 price target on Waters in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $423.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research raised shares of Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Rothschild Redb raised shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $392.19.

Waters Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:WAT opened at $381.97 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $275.05 and a 12 month high of $423.56. The business’s 50-day moving average is $381.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $337.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a PE ratio of 35.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.16.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 19th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $608.55 million for the quarter. Waters had a return on equity of 36.59% and a net margin of 20.89%. Research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation is a global provider of analytical instruments, software and services for laboratory and research applications. The company designs, manufactures and sells technologies centered on liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, separation science, and related sample preparation and detection systems. Its product portfolio includes chromatographs, mass spectrometers, columns and consumables, laboratory informatics and workflow software, as well as technical support and training services that help customers run and interpret complex analyses.

Waters serves a wide range of end markets that include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research and testing laboratories, academic and government research institutions, clinical diagnostics, food and environmental testing, and industrial and chemical manufacturers.